Do you have a cause, a vision or a talent that keeps getting kicked to the back of your mind? Is it buried under the layers of stories you tell yourself about how you’ll act on it someday? Are you terrified of using your creativity?

Taking a creative risk is not for sissies. It puts you in the driver’s seat yet demands that you let go of control. It seduces you to the edge of the unknown then asks you to jump. It tempts you with fame as you trip upon rejection.

It lures you out of your comfort zone over and over as a high level of fear accompanies you wherever you go. But Fear does not have the power to stop you from taking creative risks.

Steven Pressfield, says in his book The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, “Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.”

What do you need to do? Is your fear of the unknown stopping you? Then jump. Take a risk and feel your way through the dark. That simply means that you’re at the beginning — in the dark earth where the seed of your idea can begin to grow.

What’s the alternative – to wonder the rest of your life if you should have? The world right now is looking for risk-takers, entrepreneurs, innovators, inventors, boundary-bounders  – bold leaders who are willing to break down the walls of adversity and lead us into a better world.

Are you one?